Curious Malfoy's
by lezonne
Summary: Those Malfoy men are some curious fellows... Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition round 13 and the OTP Boot Camp prompt #50.


Thanks to my amazing beta _lozipozivanillabean_!

Written for the_ Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition _round 13 (prompts 3, 8 and 11) and the _OTP Boot Camp _prompt #50 (eternity).

* * *

Curious Malfoy's

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Astoria asked, eyeing her husband. She hated having to go places unless she got something out of it, and Draco knew it.

"Look, you won't teach him anything when you're home all day," the blond replied, crabbing this morning, "And I can only do so much when I work all day. He needs to know the basic spells that everyday wizards use before entering Hogwarts if he wants to start ahead of the pack, and that's only a few months away. Since you don't do anything and I'm too busy, then yes, I do think this is a good idea. Someone here is actually going to come and teach Scorpius several times a week about spells, potions and the basic rules of being a wizard. If he had a better mother, then this wouldn't be necessary."

Astoria turned her nose up at that. She couldn't stand being made fun of, even if what he said might be the truth. Deciding that he would take her silence while he could, he chanced a look around the room. The children got to meet with their new tutor beforehand so they could talk for a few minutes. It was easy to tell where Scorpius was, and Draco found him immediately, arching an eyebrow at the woman sitting with him.

She had long brunette curls and a pale pink shirt on. Her back was to him, but Draco had an uncanny sense that he knew this female. He continued to watch the pair, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of her face. Astoria decided to try and piss him off while they waited by flirting with another father nearby, but only succeeded in angering the man's wife. Draco couldn't care less about what she was doing. It's not as though they actually liked each other.

A few minutes later the parents were able to go and meet with the new tutor. Draco actually left Astoria to go and meet this woman, irritated with the fact that she was doing her make up at a time like this. Strutting up, he paused in between his son and the tutor, who was currently searching through her bag.

"Dad!" Scorpius explained, standing up. "Miss Granger is so cool! She taught me about this teacher once who was a Werewolf and he got found out and…"

Draco couldn't focus on what his son was saying. He was still too stuck on the name he'd just been given. Staring at the woman now, he was unable to look away until she finally sat up. And when she did, he thought his jaw might actually fall.

It really was Hermione Granger, and she'd _certainly _grown up over the last eleven years. Her body was filled out, her clothing fit nicely and she had a maturity about her that was actually quite appealing. He was just a bit surprised to see her posing as a tutor of all things. With her intellect she could go for careers that had so much more to offer.

"Your son said you were here," she began, standing up. "Long time no see Malfoy."

"Indeed," he replied, beckoning his son to move out of the way of someone passing by. "I didn't expect to see you here. As a parent, maybe, but not as a tutor."

Her expression hardened a bit at that, and he wondered what he had said wrong. "No, just a tutor," Hermione said, forcing a smile. He could tell that she was forcing the expression, but said nothing about it. He didn't really think it was his place to. "This is actually just something I do in my free time. I went back for my twelve year degree. I've been completing three years in two, so I'm actually ahead of where I'm expected to be."

"That's not surprising," he admitted, honestly having expected something like that from Hogwarts's best student. "I suppose there's no one better to teach my son."

Her eyebrows practically disappeared into her hairline. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me Granger. I think you're one of the best people for the job. Merlin knows you'll do more than my wife does."

"Are you and mother fighting again?" Scorpius interrupted, looking up at his dad. The man sputtered briefly, then patted his son's shoulder.

"We're just disagreeing, that is all Scorpius."

"Again?"

"We don't see eye-to-eye," he replied shortly, cutting off the conversation. "So why don't we set up a time you can come around Granger? I work most of the time, but my wife's often home. If you can handle her… anytime works. We're trying to get Scorpius as much attention as possible before Hogwarts. He really hasn't had the proper amount of training yet."

"I see," she replied evenly, noticing the blonde woman approaching them. "And I assume this is the Mrs.?"

"Oh I knew you were going to be rude as soon as I laid eyes on you," Astoria muttered, not bothering with introductions. Hermione didn't need any though. She remembered this stuck-up snob from school.

"This is probably the first time you've looked at her all day," Draco sighed. "Fine then, how about noon to three on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays? That will give him plenty of time to-"

"You mean I have to deal with this woman at my home three days out of the week?" Astoria cried, looking between the three. "I won't have a-"

"Don't _even _go there," he groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Please, this is already a nightmare. And to think I believed you could actually come out in public and act civil."

"I _am _civil. But having Granger as a tutor? Now that's a nightmare!"

Hermione watched the couple bicker silently. Obviously, Draco and Astoria didn't see eye to eye on much of anything. She was pretty surprised that they both hadn't killed one another yet. How their poor son handled living at home with the two of them was a mystery to her.

"Great, noon then," she agreed awkwardly, saying goodbye to Scorpius. He waved, and she gave him a paper with her floo on it just in case they needed to contact her. He bid her goodbye with a sad shake of his head. Even outsiders couldn't handle his parents constant arguing.

It was a miracle he could.

* * *

For four long weeks, Hermione went over to the Manor on the scheduled dates. She sat in the library with Scorpius looking through books, practicing spells and ignoring his mother. It wasn't that bad of a routine.

At least, it wasn't until Draco started showing up. She thought everything was fine and dandy until he put himself in the picture. Then things got really awkward really fast.

First, Astoria started peeking through the door while her husband sat in different corners of the library, able to see his son and Hermione but not quite overhear them. She spied on Draco who watched Hermione. And the brunette could practically feel the tension building each day.

That went on for about two weeks before Astoria exploded. Honestly, why the woman couldn't just ignore the situation escaped Hermione. It didn't seem like she even liked her husband anymore.

"Would you stop watching her?!" Astoria cried, interrupting one of Scorpius's study sessions. "She isn't an option Draco, so quit acting like it."

"You don't have any say in the matter," he snapped, standing. Scorpius had stopped listening by then, and was busy watching his parents. "You know that."

"All I know is that you-"

"Not in front of our son," Draco hissed, not quite softly enough to not be overheard. Clearing his throat, he looked over at his son. "Scorp, why don't you go on up to your room? We'll cut your study session short today."

The boy frowned. "But Miss Granger was going to show me-"

"I'll show you next time," Hermione interrupted, patting the boy's shoulder. "I promise. I should be going anyway."

That was a lie, but it was enough to deflate the child's desire to stay in the room, and Scorpius left pouting, glancing over his shoulder at the three as he left. Hermione started to gather her things as quickly as possible, but unfortunately the conversation behind her started up again just as soon as the doors to the library shut again.

"You haven't even told him yet?" she asked, sounding a bit astonished. "You haven't told our son that we're getting a divorce?"

"We should tell him together," he snapped, pushing her away from him. "But you're too much of a bitch to do that. I'm glad you found some other fellow to entertain you Astoria, but that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy the view either. You're looking around at every guy in London, so why can't I check out one innocent girl?"

Hermione stopped what she was doing, turning around with her arms crossed over her chest. Well, this just got interesting. Screw it, if they were going to pretend like she wasn't there then there was no reason why she couldn't sit quietly in the background and listen.

She felt really bad for Scorpius though. Poor kid didn't even know his family was falling apart.

And did Malfoy just admit that he was checking her out?

"I made my choice," Astoria snapped, arms crossed. "But you can't just act like I'm not here when we still live together in this house!"

"Let it go Astoria," he sighed, shaking his head. "You act like I'm not here either. I'm not going to feel bad about my actions when you do the exact same thing."

She scoffs. "And here I thought you actually loved me."

He pursed his lips then, briefly glancing at Hermione. Now she felt a bit awkward.

"To be honest Astoria, I haven't loved you for a very long time, not since I discovered your true colours."

Hermione could see the hurt on her face as she turned away. Despite herself, Astoria always tried to be the center of attention. "That's it then, we don't love each other anymore."

"Maybe we never did," he admitted with a shrug. "I don't know. But I'm not going to pretend."

"Neither am I," she whispered, squaring her shoulders. Hermione saw something coming before she spoke, knowing Astoria would stay true to her dirty ways; she always had to deal out the final blow in an argument. "Then I'll just go stay with Marcus then. There's obviously nothing left for me here."

"You have a son still," he reminded darkly, arching an eyebrow. "Don't forget about him."

"I don't think Scorpius really likes me anyway," she snapped. "I'll leave it up to his _favourite _parent to tell him the good news, but I won't spend another moment in this house being mistreated while you eye the help. Goodbye Draco. Owl me the paperwork and I'll sign everything."

The click of her heels was the only sound as Astoria left the room, and Hermione was actually surprised at how cold she could be. She would really leave without saying goodbye to her son?

From the corner of her eye she saw the blond fall back down on his chair, throwing the book he'd been pretending to read against the wall. She went against her better judgment and approached the angry man.

"Get away Granger, I don't need a pep talk right now."

At first she said nothing, simply crossed her arms and waited. He arched an eyebrow and looked up, eyeing her. "What?"

"I'm not the reason you're marriage failed am I?" she asked, though that definitely wasn't the first thing she wanted to say to him. It just happened to be the first thing that slipped out.

He laughed harshly, looking up at her through his fringe. "You? No Granger, this marriage was doomed from the start. If it wasn't already pre-arranged by our parents, we would never have married. It was never about love."

"Oh," she replied uncomfortably. Maybe that was a little bit more than she wanted to know.

"Astoria's always had her eyes on someone different. She was never satisfied with me because we never connected. For the first few years nothing eventful happened, because I think we were still both a little too stunned that we were parents at eighteen. But overtime the shock wore away, and that gave into her habits. She likes to… play the field."

"Oh… I see. So is that what broke your marriage up?"

"No. See, Pureblood's are very traditional. You never divorce unless there's no other option. A few weeks ago I found a letter up in her room between her and Marcus Flint- they were going to run away together. I sent the divorce papers in that same night and she's been rather uptight ever since. I won't have her making any more of a fool of me than she already has."

She nodded, sitting down slowly on the floor with her back against a bookcase. "She thinks I'm the reason you're getting divorced then?"

"No, she knows exactly why we're getting divorced. She just likes to blame it on you. Makes her feel better about what she's done. Merlin, to think I almost got stuck spending an eternity with her!" He shook his head. "I suppose you saved me from that hell."

"Maybe. But Malfoy?"

"Hmm?"

"You should go talk to your son. She might've stopped up there on her way out- you never know. Either way, you should probably tell him what's happening right now. Scorpius is a smart kid, he might already have a vague idea."

The man blanched. "You think it's a good idea to tell him about this mess?"

"I think it would be better than hiding the truth. At least then he'll hear it from you and not from your wife, who obviously is a bit confused about what she wants out of life."

"Yes… she is," he muttered. "You're right, I'll go talk to him."

"Good," she agreed, standing just as he did. She hurried back to her things, meaning to get out as quick as possible. Tis situation was already awkward enough.

"And Granger?"

She looked away from the floo, though she'd been dying to leave the premises. "Hmm?"

"I still expect you back here Wednesday to help my son. School isn't in session, so you're not off the hook quite yet."

"Of course," she replied, surprised that he brought that up at a time like this. She didn't miss this devilish grin as he turned and left the library either.

There was something strange about Malfoy. He might be getting divorced and having to tell his son about it all alone, but he seemed oddly pleasant. He was too happy about something… but what?

Hermione thought it might be about her.

* * *

"My dad told me to give you this."

She stopped what she was doing to take the folded bit of parchment. This was her last visit with Scorpius before he went off to Hogwarts, and she was sad to see him go. She had to set a date with him to come visit during the Christmas Holiday before he ever let her leave.

It had been almost a month since the incident in the library with Astoria. She hadn't seen the woman since, and only rarely saw Malfoy now. She wondered now if he had only ever come in there to make his wife mad.

She took the note, and Scorpius darted off. They had already said their goodbyes and she was packing her things when he handed her the note. Curious, she opened it.

_Granger~_

_My divorce cleared as of yesterday. I'll be at a meeting when you get this, but I was wondering if you might still give me a chance? I know I haven't actually done anything to properly ask you out, but it's the thought that counts, right? I couldn't rightly do that while I was still married._

_I've set up some dinner reservations for tomorrow evening. My floo will still be open if you care to happen by… there might even be a seat for you._

_I'll be stopping by the library when I return home later. If there's a note with a response to my question there… I might just find it. And I hope to see you tomorrow night. If the answer is yes, come back to my house tomorrow at six-thirty pm and we'll head out. My floo is always open to you._

_And you thought I didn't really like you didn't you?_

_Regards,_

_Malfoy, but you can call me Draco_

She grinned at his letter. So the ferret has a heart after all… and he was even a softy? Who knew!

Well, she could've guessed… Malfoy wasn't totally heartless after all. Grabbing a forgotten quill off the table, she scribbled back a response.

Tomorrow night would be fun. Maybe dating Malfoy would be just the thing to get her back into the swing of things.

Whoops, she got that wrong- maybe _Draco _was exactly what she needed.


End file.
